[Sketchbooks] / William Baziotes, ca. 1933

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Summary:

Two hard-cover sketchbooks, ca. 1933. One (auction no. 90.5) contains 42 single-sided drawings and 26 double-sided drawings, in both pencil and pen and ink. The second (no. 115.5) contains 71 single-sided drawings and 26 double-sided drawings, all in pencil except for one charcoal drawing on frontispiece. The sketches are primarily of people; some animals and landscapes are also included. Landscapes may be of Baziotes' hometown area of Reading, Pa., where he often returned in the summer.

Microfilm reel 5257 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Location of Originals:

Originals returned to lender after microfilming.

Loan:

Loan

Biography Note:

Painter; New York, N.Y. Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Baziotes moved to New York City in 1933, where he studied painting at the National Academy of Design, 1933-1936. He participated on the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project as a teacher, 1936-1938, and painted for the Easel Painting Project, 1938-1940. In 1941 he married Ethel Copstein. He had his first one-man show at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery in 1944. Baziotes taught at Subjects of the Artist, 1948; the Brooklyn Museum Art School; New York University; 1949-1952; the People's Art Center at the Museum of Modern Art, 1950-1952; and Hunter College, 1952-1962. Died June 1963, at age 52.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1998 by John Castago, a dealer who purchased the sketchbooks at auction. The auctioneer's label (Pennypacker-Andrews Auction Centre, N.Y.) affixed to each cover identifies the sketchbooks: "From the Private Collection of Constance and the Late Harry Baziotes, Purchased on September 25, 1995. Each page is stamped "Wm A. Baziotes Estate"